Listen To Your Dad
by Micaiah
Summary: E/O Challenge. Drabble challenge word: relax. Teen!chester. Sam has been left at the motel while Dean and John go on a hunt. Happy Birthday Sammygirl1963! This drabble has now been extended per request.
1. Chapter 1

**E/O Drabble Challenge**

**Challenge word: relax**

**Length: 100 words!**

**A/N: This takes place when the boys are teens. Sam is 13 and Dean is 17. Sam was left at the motel while his Dad and Dean went on a hunt.**

**Happy Birthday to Sammygirl1963 who requested sick!Sam and caring!Dad. Hope you like it!**

**Remember: Reviews rock my world!**

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"I got you, Sammy."

Strong arms encircled Sam's waist as he tried to push himself up from the bathroom floor.

"'m sick, Dad."

"I can see that." His dad managed to flush the toilet with his foot while maintaining his firm grip on Sam. "Let's get you back to bed."

Sam sank into the pillows. "Where's Dean?"

"We got separated." Sam saw the worry in his dad's eyes.

"What? We have to go look for him!" Sam bolted upright, groaning as the room started spinning.

"Relax, Sam. You're in no condition to go looking for anybody."

"But, Dad….."

"No, Sam."


	2. Chapter 2

**Per request, here is the extended version of the drabble. I thought I had a good idea but then after I wrote it, well, it just didn't seem all that great but here it is anyway!**

* * *

Sam had fallen into a fitful sleep. John alternated sitting at the bedside of his youngest son and watching out the window for the return of his eldest.

Dean had only been on one solo hunt and John had been hesitant to let him do another one by himself. They had argued about leaving Sam alone at the motel. Dean insisted he could do the job and John could stay with Sam while Sam had insisted he was fine and John should go with Dean. In the end, John had chosen to go with the son who he thought would be in the most danger.

They had been checking out a house that was rumored to be haunted. The current owners had moved out and put the house up for sale when strange things began happening.

Before he'd gotten sick, Sam had done the research and found out the people who originally built the house had been murdered there. The killer was never found. John was sure that was the reason they were still hanging around. Since those people had been cremated, John and Dean were planning to search the house for some object the spirits could be tied to.

Things didn't go exactly as planned. Someone must have seen them entering the empty house and it wasn't long before the cops showed up. John had made it out in time but Dean hadn't. Dean had called John on his cell and told him he was safe but he couldn't leave his hiding place until the cops left. He insisted that John return to the motel to check on Sammy since he didn't know how long he would have to lay low. John had argued until Dean had said "Gotta be quiet now, Dad." The phone line went dead and when John tried to call back he got Dean's voice mail.

Sam mumbled something in his sleep and John gave up his post at the window. He perched on the edge of the bed and laid his hand on Sam's cheek. His fever had abated some with the aspirin John had given him.

John pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. Where was Dean? It had been over an hour since he'd left Dean at the house. It had been within walking distance of the motel. They hadn't even taken the Impala. He should have been back by now.

"Dad?"

John opened his eyes and looked at his youngest son.

"Is Dean back yet?"

"Not yet, Sammy."

"We should go look for him." Sam struggled to sit up.

"Haven't we already had this conversation?" John pushed Sam back against the pillow. "Your brother can take care of himself."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't you just stay here with me to start with? Dean wanted you to. If it had been an easy job you would have let him go by himself."

John sighed. Sam's eyes were daring him to contradict what he'd just said. Why couldn't they ever talk without it ending in some kind of battle of wills?

"I'll try calling him again." John picked up his phone and almost dropped it when it began to ring. The caller ID showed that it was Dean. "Dean, where the hell are you?"

"Dad?" Dean's voice was weak. "I'm sorry. I…I need your help. I've been…I've been shot, Dad."

Sam reached for the phone but John shoved his hand away. "Tell me where you are, son."

John could see the panic in Sam's fevered eyes. He was picking up on the fear in John's voice.

"Dean, hang on, okay? We're coming to get you. Just hang on." John hung up the phone.

"What's happened to Dean?" Sam had already stumbled out of bed and pulled on his crumpled clothes.

"Your brother's been shot."

Sam faltered and John thought he was going to collapse on the floor. John put out a hand to steady him.

"I'm okay, Dad." He led the way to the door. "We have to hurry and find Dean."

* * *

Sam jumped out of the car as soon as his dad slammed it into park.

"Just where do you think you're going?" demanded his dad.

"To help you find Dean." Sam gave a valiant effort to stand up straight but he was still feeling weak and feverish.

"Like hell. Get back in the car." His dad handed him the phone. "Keep this with you. I'll call you on Dean's phone when I find him."

Sam started to argue but decided against it. His dad always won and the longer they spent arguing, the longer Dean would be lying in the woods, bleeding to death.

As soon as his dad disappeared into the woods, Sam dialed Dean's number.

"Hello?"

Sam swallowed back tears at the sound of his brother's weak voice.

"Dean?"

"Sammy? What are you doing? I thought you were sick."

"Never mind that. Dad's on his way. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

The line was silent except for the sound of Dean's ragged breathing.

"Dean, hang on, okay?"

No response.

"Dean?"

"S'mmy?" Dean's voice was a whisper. "'m scared."

"Dean, I'm right here. Dad's coming. Hang on, okay." Sam desperately clutched the phone as if it would make him closer to his brother. "Please hang on, Dean."

"'m tryin', Sammy."

Dean moaned and Sam's stomach clenched at the sound.

"Sam, is that you?"

"Dad?" Sam had never been so glad to hear his Dad's voice. "Is he okay?"

"He's hurt pretty bad, son."

Sam bit his lip hard to keep from crying. His dad wouldn't stand for that right now.

"Listen, Sam, I want you to get the first aid kit from the trunk and have it ready when I get there with Dean. Find any kind of clean rags, t-shirts, whatever we have."

"Okay, Dad. Just hurry." Sam ended the phone call and scrambled to the trunk of the car. He gathered the things his dad would need, opened the back door of the Impala and waited impatiently.

When his dad emerged from the woods carrying a limp Dean in his arms, Sam grasped the side of the car to keep from falling to his knees. He had never seen so much blood, especially coming from his brother.

"Oh my God. Dean?"

Dean's face was deathly white. His dad placed Dean in the back seat of the Impala.

"Sam, you have to keep pressure on this while I drive to the hospital."

"Yes, sir." He knelt in the back seat beside his brother, pressing on the wound with a makeshift bandage made from t-shirts and towels.

"Dean, can you hear me?"

Dean's eyes fluttered.

"Please don't leave me, Dean." Sam whispered to his brother. "You can't leave me here with Dad, please."

Dean's eyes didn't open but his hand weakly grasped Sam's arm. Sam focused on that as the Impala sped into the night.

John found Sam standing outside the operating room.

* * *

"Sammy, come on. You can't stay here."

"I'm not leaving him."

"Nobody is leaving anybody."

"You left him." Sam's dark eyes were accusing.

John sighed. "Come on, kiddo. For once can we not argue?"

Sam turned away, stalking toward the waiting room. He stopped just short of it and stood staring out a window. John tentatively put his hand on his son's shoulder but Sam shrugged it off.

"You shouldn't have left him, Dad."

"I know, Sammy, okay? You're right."

Sam turned to face him, his lower lip trembling. John's heart ached at the sight of his son caught between needing to be a man, because that's what Dean would do, and wanting to be nothing more than a scared little boy.

"I screwed up, Sam. I'm sorry."

The scared little boy won out and Sam buried his face against John's chest. John cradled his sobbing son in his arms, pressing his face against the top of Sam's head.

"He'll be okay, Sammy. I promise."

* * *

"Sammy, wake up."

Sam had fallen asleep leaning against John's arm. His eyes fluttered open and he gazed sleepily around the room. It took only a moment for him to become wide awake.

"How's Dean?"

"They said we could see him now. That's why I woke you."

Sam jumped up and John eyed him suspiciously. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." The dark circles under his eyes said otherwise.

"Are you sure? You don't need to see Dean if you're still sick. We don't want to make things harder on him."

John could see Sam mentally evaluating how he felt. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize his brother's well being.

"I'm really okay." Sam shrugged. "Maybe a little hungry."

John laughed. "That's always a good sign. I'll get you something to eat after we see Dean. How does that sound?"

Sam's stomach rumbled and he grinned sheepishly. "Evidently it sounds good."

When they entered Dean's room, Sam clutched John's arm. Dean was still unconscious and seemed to have tubes running everywhere. Sam pulled a chair up as close as he could to Dean's bed.

"Is he going to be okay, Dad?"

"They said he should be fine in a few days." He couldn't tell Sam they just wouldn't know until Dean woke up. He didn't want Sammy to worry anymore than he already was.

"Do you think he knows we're here?" Sam looked desperate to touch his brother.

"He knows, Sammy." John blinked back the tears in his eyes. He didn't want Sam to know how much it scared him to see Dean lying there like that, helpless, wounded. When he had found Dean in the woods it had taken everything he had to hold it together. His son wasn't supposed to get hurt. He wasn't supposed to bleed.

"Dad, are you okay?" Sam's eyes were dark with concern. Something that Sam didn't usually have for his father.

"Yeah, Sammy." He wiped his hand across his face. "How about I get you something to eat while you stay here and look after your brother?"

"Thanks, Dad." John could see the relief in Sam's eyes. Even though Sam's stomach was telling him to eat, there was no way Sam would have left his brother's side.

John nodded and headed out of the room. He managed to make it to the nearest restroom and lock himself inside before he began to sob uncontrollably.

* * *

"Dean?" Sam leaned in closer to his brother. "Can you hear me?"

Dean's eyes remained closed. Sam touched his brother's hand. It seemed to be the only part of him that wasn't attached to something.

"You have to wake up, Dean. If you don't wake up…." Sam couldn't go on with that thought. If his brother didn't wake up, then someone might as well shoot him too. Dean was his protector, his confidant, his best friend. Without Dean, well, there just was no such thing as without Dean.

Sam carefully tucked his brother's hand into his own. Dean's hand was limp and unresponsive. If he'd been awake, he'd probably have slapped Sam for even trying to hold his hand and called him a candy ass.

Sam tried to hold back the tears but he couldn't. He wasn't brave like Dean or Dad. He was scared. "Dean, please, please…"

Dean's hand moved within his. Sam gasped and looked at his brother's face. Dean's eyes were struggling to open.

"S'mmy….."

"Dean!" Sam squeezed his brother's hand tighter. "Don't try to talk. Just get better, okay?"

"Sammy….." Dean's voice was hoarse. "I'll never leave you."

Dean had heard what he'd said in the Impala. Sam could only nod and blink back the tears.

"Hey, Sammy?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let go….my hand anytime…you candy ass."

Dean managed a weak smile and Sam beamed at him in return but he refused to let go of his brother's hand, candy ass or not.


End file.
